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Chelsea vs Man United: I’m happy we can play without Lukaku – Thomas Tuchel

Thomas Tuchel has said that he is happy that his Chelsea team can survive without their top striker, Romelu Lukaku and other top stars who are injured at the moment.

The German also lambasted some people who are claiming that the team is better without Lukaku, who has been injured for weeks now.

Lukaku has missed The Blues last seven matches due to an ankle injury but is now on the verge of returning.

Chelsea have been unbeaten in Lukaku’s absence and their latest display was a 4-0 thrashing of Juventus in the Champions League this week.

And this has led to claims that the west London side are more of a threat without their £97.5 million striker.

“I understand why people say this as people always look for easy solutions,” Tuchel said at his press conference on Friday.

“People look for one reason and that things go one way or the other. But life is not like this, life is not that easy, and life in a football team is not that easy.

“Maybe, we shine so brightly now because Romelu did the hard work before. He scored some very decisive goals for us already, to bring us in a position where the young players and other players can take over, step in and show their qualities.

“We started strong and we started the season with Romelu. The things he brings when he is in the dressing room, in the building, even when he is injured, he is everyday here, positive, determined, he pushes everybody. He is a top professional and a top, top striker. He will be super and he is actually, in the moment, very important.

“I am happy that we can survive a long period without him, without [Mateo] Kovacic, without [Timo] Werner, without [Christian] Pulisic. It shows we function as a team absolutely and we rely on top qualities like every team but they bring so much more than only their presence on the field.

“We miss all our players when they are injured and we will miss Romelu a lot and we are capable of finding solutions and the team is doing so well as Romelu is pushing, he is here and he is part of the team.

“There are different views on the subject and the whole conversation is more complex than it seems to be. The competition is on, which is a good thing.”

Tuchel’s side welcome Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as they hope to maintain their grip at the top of the table.

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